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Develop - Course Conversion Initiative

Regent University's syllabus and Blackboard templates will save faculty time when designing and uploading courses into Blackboard. CTL created this web page as a depository of documents and tutorials that will help faculty convert courses to the current templates in an efficient manner.

Click on the various titles to access these documents. We will add more content and tutorials as they are developed or requested. Many of the YouTube videos listed on this page are narrated by Tricia King, doctoral candidate at Regent's School of Psychology and Counseling. Contact CTL (ctl@regent.edu) if you have questions or need assistance converting your course to the Regent syllabus and Blackboard templates.

Course Conversion Process: Converting your course to the Regent Bb template

  • Regent's Course Conversion initiative: Watch this video clip [4.33min.) that gives an introduction of the Regent Bb template by looking at its Announcements and Start Here course content pages.

  • Download and use the Regent syllabus template (or the template adapted from it by your individual school) to put your course syllabus together. [Example: this is the SPC approved template]
    -- Download the template and "save as" using the following name format:
    "yr.month_course ID_SYLLABUS". (Example: 201210 CES 626 SYLLABUS denotes the syllabus is for course CES 626 taught fall of 2012). The Regent syllabus template helps faculty create courses that follow exemplar online learning standards, including Quality Matters guidelines.

  • Use the Course planning matrix: Watch the video clip [3min.] and download the course planning matrix WORD document. It is meant to help you list the content that you will need to upload to your Blackboard course for each week/unit of your course. -- Dr. Kathie Erwin, from the School of Psychology and Counseling, created a "one file planning matrix" that allows faculty to have the content for each of the various week(s) in their courses all in one document. You may find it helpful to use this all-in-one planning matrix as well. Click here to download the "one file planning matrix".

  • Familiarize yourself with the Course Content pages in the Regent Bb template: Watch the video clip [2:12min.] that gives an overview of the Regent Bb template by looking at the course content pages and describes how to use the Course planning Matrix to organize your course content.

  • Construct your weekly learning objectives: Watch this video clip [4min.] to see how using Bloom's Taxonomy will help you create better learning objectives for each week in your course.

  • Upload documents to the Blackboard's Content Collection: Watch the video clip [5min.] that demonstrates how to upload documents you will be using during your course to the Bb content collection area and then upload your course documents there.

  • Order a development shell for your course if your course does not already have one. [Note: the development shells for SPC have been created already]. Creating a development shell for your course allows you to then copy the course you created in it onto the actual course AND onto various sections of the course. It also allows the school to have a "clean" copy of that particular course that can be referred back to in the future and it serves as a backup copy of the course itself.

  • Use the check list created by CTL on How to convert your course(s) to the Regent Bb template in 20 easy steps and watch tutorials on various steps as needed.

  • Benefits of using Regent's Syllabus and Bb templates: There are many benefits, both to faculty and students, when faculty uses the university's syllabus and Bb templates for their courses. Students find it easier to navigate courses when the look and feel of courses they take is the same. The templates incorporate, by design, best practices in course development. An additional benefit for faculty is that they will be able to get each of their courses ready from one semester to the next within 15 minutes.

    PLEASE NOTE: This video shows how, AFTER a course is in the Regent Bb template, faculty can get their courses ready from one semester to the next within 15 minutes. The instructions in the video do not apply to faculty working on development shells. For faculty whose courses are not in the Regent Bb template, you first need to develop your course in a Bb Development shell and then copy that development shell onto the actual course you'll be teaching. Then, next time you teach the same course, you'll be able to get your course ready within 15 minutes like the following video shows. Watch this video [11.47min] to see a faculty member demonstrate how he gets his courses ready for the next semester in less than 15 minutes IF the course is already in the Regent Bb template.

After your development shell is created, copy it onto your actual Bb course shell:

  • After you have created your course's development shell you will need to copy it onto your actual Bb course. Watch this video [3.4 min.] that describes how to prepare a development shell for a template copy. The same process is followed when you want to copy your development shell onto the actual Bb course you'll be teaching or onto additional sections of your course.

Contact CTL (ctl@regent.edu) if you have questions or need assistance converting your course to the Regent syllabus and Blackboard templates.